NCT07073144

The Impact of 'Digital Strolling' on Depression and Quality of Life of People With Severe Mobility Impairment

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 24 (actual)
• Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This intervention aims to develop and test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a "Digital Strolling" intervention among people with SMI. The intervention group will receive a "Digital Strolling" intervention, which consists of 20 minutes "Digital strolling" for 10 days, with lessons occurring once a day. The control group will receive passive observation of virtual walking videos only.

Detailed description

This study is a two-arm, pilot randomized controlled trial, which will be used to evaluate and compare the effects of the "Digital strolling" intervention and the passive observing control group. Twenty-four participants will be recruited from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Participants will be assigned to the "Digital Strolling" or control group. Participants in the "Digital Strolling" group will receive an arm swing virtual walking intervention, which consists of 20 minutes of virtual walking for 10 days and is conducted at home. Qualitative interviews with the "Digital Strolling" group will be conducted to understand their acceptability, usability, perceived strengths, and limitations of the intervention. While the one in the control group will receive 10 passive observing walking videos for 10 days.

Conditions

• Severe Mobility Impairment
• Spinal Cord Injuries (Complete and Incomplete)
• Poliomyelitis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Virtual walking	Participants in the intervention group will wear a head-mounted display and hold a controller to swing their arm and control the virtual avatar walking in the virtual world. The intervention will include 10 scenarios of virtual walking intervention (1 scenario daily, each lasting for 15-20 minutes).
BEHAVIORAL	Passive observing walking	Participants in the control group will be given 10 different walking videos in total, one for each day, each approximately 15 minutes in length.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-05-09
• Primary completion: 2025-10-15
• Completion: 2025-10-30
• First posted: 2025-07-18
• Last updated: 2026-02-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Hong Kong